IMPROVEMENTS IN USE OF FERTILIZERS 237 



adopted by that country for the production of home-grown 

 food. If the British people revert to a foreign food supply 

 regardless of security, then much of the land which has been 

 ploughed up will fall back to indifferent grass ; if they 

 consider security, financial as well as military, they will 

 be forced to grow a larger quantity of corn, and therefore 

 employ a larger quantity of fertilizers. Such corn growing 

 as Great Britain had before the war depended largely upon 

 the conditions of this country which followed Waterloo. At 

 that time corn prices were relatively high, yet farmers lost 

 money and many became bankrupt. Nominally, landlords 

 grew rich on the great rents they received ; as a matter of 

 fact, few grew rich, and the money saved was invested in 

 permanent improvements on the land. The capital thus 

 sunk resulted in a sufficient food supply being provided during 

 many years for the lapidly growing industrial population of 

 this country. The growth and prosperity of industrial 

 England might never have occurred but for the care which 

 landowners gave to the improvement of their estates, and to 

 the extent to which they invested the proceeds of land in the 

 improvement of the soil between 1760 and 1820. During 

 the war rentshave not been raised, public burdens have greatly 

 increased, and interest on mortgages has risen. Occupying 

 landowners have increased their capital, but the total 

 volume of this increase is not great, and unless there is a 

 transference of land to men who have made profits in other 

 industries, it is difficult to see where the private capital 

 necessary for the improvement of the land is to come from. 

 During the war farm buildings, fences and other essential 

 plant have fallen into disrepair, and large sums of money will 

 be necessary to bring farms into a working state once more. 

 During the war heavy debts have been incurred, the interest 

 on which will be made easier to pay by any addition to the 

 home-grown food. Yet, 90 years ago, after the first effects 

 of the Napoleonic wars had disappeared, although farmers 

 lacked artificial manures, were without pipe drainage, and 

 had little machinery, Great Britain fed a larger population 

 than she does to-day. The gross value of the produce of 



